Police: Child found home alone with spoiled milk

NORCROSS, Ga. - Gwinnett County police said they discovered a 4-year-old home alone after he used a cellphone and called a Sprint operator.

That operator used cellphone towers to help emergency responders locate the child Jan. 25.

Police said the child spent close to 10 hours inside a Norcross apartment on Indian Trail Road. They said inside, the child had no food, but a bag of marijuana was within reach.

Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh requested the 911 call from the incident.

"The little boy called into Sprint, and he was crying because he's home alone, and he's scared. So, he wanted his mom. We tried to contact his mom. We didn't have any way, because the only cellphone she has on her account is the one the little boy is calling from,” the Sprint operator told Gwinnett County 911.

Together, they used nearby cellphone towers to identify the child's location. As police worked to find the apartment on Indian Trail Road, the Sprint operator kept the child calm on the line.

When the officer arrived, he said the door was wide open. They said the child was cold and hungry.

"What they did find laying around was spoiled milk and some old pizza crusts,” said Gwinnett Police Cpl. Jake Smith.

The police report indicates the child tried to drink that spoiled milk. The report said the officer also found a baggy of Marijuana on top of a television.

Police said the officer contacted the child's mother, 22-year-old Nyota Mubiaya, and the man they identify as her boyfriend, 28-year-old Curtis Pickett.

"As they talked to them each individually, they both claimed to be on the way home from work,” said Smith.

Police said when they arrived home about two hours later, they were charged with second-degree child cruelty and possession of marijuana.

Police called in the state Division of Family and Children Services. According to the police report, the state was going to place the child with his grandmother.

Kavanaugh contacted the child’s mother over the phone, but she declined to comment.